Scarlet Snow
by Syel-Kisa
Summary: Akane is a Feudal princess and Ranma is her faithful Knight, how did Akane's Christmas turn out so wrong? Will she get a true Christmas miracle? AU Oneshot, must be convinced otherwise to write more Merry Christmas everyone! R


_I hope you all enjoy this! I wrote on a sudden impulse to write something before Christmas came around and I hope it isnt a total fail! I wont write more unless i'm convinced that it is worthy of more writing ^^ please review! I love to hear peoples oppinions! And YES Akane's hair is long in this, I always liked it better that way to be completely honest._

_AU_

She was cold. So cold that she could barely stand it, she couldn't be outside any longer.

But she would. She refused to leave even if her life depended on it.

"Ranma… I don't understand…" Her tears were flowing freely now, like two silver rivers down her almost too pale cheeks. She griped his hand, as though just the pressure of her hand on his would be enough to save him.

Tired eyes opened revealing two of the most beautiful pools of blue that she had ever seen in her life and cracked lips curled up in a tiny fragment of a smile. Possibly all he could manage at this point.

"Why would you do this?" she demanded as a lone drop of salty water fell from her chin and onto the blood soaked snow. "Why would you risk this?" She touched his chest where his heart was beating somewhat slower than normal.

A broken voice then pierced through her heart for what could be the last time, "You have your life to live… your kingdom to rule… It is my job to make sure that you live Akane…" that breath taking voice trailed off and Akane's eyes widened, allowing more tears to fall.

"I care not about my life! The kingdom can go to my sister! I never wanted this… I never wanted you to… to…" she couldn't finish her sentence and he seemed to know this. He raised his hand and brushed away one of her tears.

"I did though… and now you must continue on and cherish the life you have, use it to save many more lives… you have the power to do that in your hands." he closed those eyes in what seemed to be a moment of silent pain as he tried to suppress it. "Akane… you are the most caring person I have ever had the opportunity to meet. And I am glad beyond words that I was the one selected to be your knight."

Akane shook her head, allowing several strands of her raven tresses to fall over her shoulder and tickle her damp cheeks. "I-I cant… you've always been there… how can you honestly expect me to be able to do such things without you there with me?" she questioned, "I love you Ranma… I just cant." it was her turn to close her eyes.

Ranma was assigned to her as her honorary knight that would protect her no matter the cost back when they were still young. At the ages of thirteen and fourteen, Akane being thirteen and Ranma being fourteen. Since he was young and less experienced she had a second knight, only until Ranma would be strong enough to protect her by himself however.

At first they didn't like each other at all. Ranma would always complain about how he would rather be the knight of a princess that was worth protecting and cute, every time he would be beaten for it. Which only made his resentment for her grow.

Akane didn't like Ranma because she didn't like the idea of being protected. She had always had a strong and healthy ego and knowing that she had someone always watching over her severely injured that ego. So she would always complain about having a knight that didn't even want to protect her.

Over the years they had grown up and learned to appreciate each other much more, after a while they became great friends and that friendship developed into something more and soon the two were inseparable.

At least until that moment.

Ranma was a very strong young man, over the ten years that he had been assigned as Akane's knight he had been training every day and it was obvious that all of that training indeed paid off. With that dark hair tied back in the pig-tail of his… and how he held himself with such dignity and courage… no one wanted to face him.

The guys that had come after her however, were older and wiser then Ranma. They died, Ranma made sure of that before he made his own collapse. The biggest one of them all had dealt a fatal wound to Ranma's stomach before Ranma managed to kill him.

And now there they were… sitting in the immense cold of the winter time. Waiting for the inevitable to happen as scarlet pooled onto the ground in front of her, tinting the pure white of the snow into that of a blood red color.

Suddenly he was sitting up and had his hands on her shoulders, "Stop talking like that damn it!" he exclaimed like the man who she had grown so close to. "You are going to go back to that castle before these guys' comrades figure out that they were unsuccessful in kidnapping my princess." he said firmly, it was a strength that she associated with that of a candle that became slightly stronger before it was blown out.

"Bu-but Ranma I-."

"No buts about it! Go and make something of yourself, you are a strong young woman who isn't afraid of saying what you've got on your mind. You can change so many people's lives, protect them…"

He coughed then and blood dripped down from the corner of his mouth before he lowered himself back to the ground, "Don't waste your life."

There was something about that statement that made Akane realize something and she stood up. It was then that the snow started to fall in a slow, graceful way and the wind blew, sending her hair onto the breeze and she opened her eyes once more, revealing determined chocolate brown orbs.

"I will go back… but not without you." she said kneeling down and draping his arm over her shoulder as she hefted him up, "You are not going to leave me, you will be my Christmas miracle." she said as she started the long trek back to her castle where she was sure her healer would be able to do something about her Knights injury.

"You will see the light of tomorrows morning… that I assure you." she said with a final

tone.

Ranma would be by her forever and share many more winters with her, they would forget this blood stained Christmas as though it never existed.


End file.
